The making of the Design, Form, and Chaos by Paul Rand, second edition

Getting the task: to republish the book by Paul Rand about design and chaos.

The book

Updating book details and the ISBN. Correcting misprints.

Adding the words “second edition” to the title opening and the name of the translator that was unduly omitted in the first edition.

The chief typesetter asks to adjust illustration colors to bring them closer to the original. The most different is the gray Pantone: in the first edition it came out dark to the point of being very close to black.

Comparing other illustrations to the original and adjusting the CMYK values.

The cover

Having a close look at the original and adjusting the position of the signature on the cover.

The dust jacket

Starting to retypeset the dust jacket. At the very least we need to update it to match the new format and maybe even suggest something new.

Here are the two alternatives: to keep the same pictures but adjust them slightly to match the style of studio’s dust jackets or to create a replica of the original.

Art director: I don’t like either.

Continuing to think.

Choosing one of the designs to show.

Art director: Not as cool as the graphics. The cover is boring.

Chief typesetter: Let’s try to slightly enlarge what we used to have and create another design with a pattern.